So I went in for my CT yesterday. As I had my 5FU pump hooked up, and they didn't use a Power Port needle because we didn't know I'd be getting a CT when they placed the needle, they had to stick my arm. Pre-dx this would've upset me to no end, but since dx I've been stuck w/so many needles as long as I don't look and they don't have to move it around, I'm okay. So they tie off my arm, get their kit ready, swab the area, etc. I look away. I feel the needle go in and... "huh, what happened here?" I look up at my friend since I still don't want to see the needle and he shrugs in confusion. The nurse, Russ, again, "hmmm... what on earth...?" I say, "what? What's going on?!" Russ says, "I think your vein exploded." My vein did WHAT? I finally look down and the area is a little puffy, but doesn't look TOO ba- oh God there's blood everywhere! I look up at Russ and say, "Ah, is this something I should be CONCERNED with?" He says he doesn't think so, wiggles the needle around in my arm a bit causing light-headedness and more waves of nausea than I'd been feeling from the combination of fasting and 5FU. Then says, "I THINK I got it, let's see if we can get a blood return and if it flushes okay." It does, so they tape it down. We do the CT (I never had one done during neuropathy and my hands and feet were ON FIRE). They take the needle out which HURT like never before, the other nurse sagely offers, "it must've been up against a nerve". I just want to get far away from these people who, although very nice, have obviously been hired to kill me. My friend and I walked around looking for his car for half an hour since he couldn't remember where he parked and I hadn't come with him (I came with my dad but his car broke down in the lot so he was trying to get that worked out while my friend took me home). Whoo boy, what a day for us all.

My arm hurts today like an S.O.B. but I can more than live with that. The good thing is, in the midst of all the craziness, scanxiety was definitely a distant memory. Just waiting on the results now, and I may be tempting the fates here, but I got a good feeling about them. Come on results, let's do this!

Scary title. This happened to someone else on here, and it took a while for the swelling to go down, but it didn't sound like it was painful for very long. Good luck, and hopefully the CT result was good.

Starbuck,That's happened to me. I've had them blow my vein twice and yes, it hurts like HECK! The last time was during my CT. They got the needle in, had trouble, flushed it and thought, ok everything was fine. Part of the problem is that the dye they use during the CT can't go in slowly....it has to go in (at least according to them) rather quickly. Your veins take a beating during chemo...even with a port, so be aware of that. On mine, apparently when they put the dye in at the 'normal' rate, my vein couldn't take it, the dye started going into other places and the pressure blew out not only the vein but this valve thingie and there was blood everywhere. On the floor, on the scanner, on me, on the table....everywhere. I was getting ready to go into the scanner, had my eyes closed so I had no idea what was all over my face....honestly, I thought it was the dye. Freaked me out! I thought that the dye had come out or something....all I know is I was worried that I was going to be blind from the 'dye' (really my blood) that was all over my face/hair. The pain and 'lump' will go away over time but yes, it does hurt a LOT!

Just know that chemo does a job on your veins...they tend to become 'harder', more difficult to access, they tend to 'roll' more, they can get 'lumps' on them, and over all just not as pliable. I truly don't know if this ever dissipates or if its something we just have to live with. I can tell you that for me, my veins are harder to find and only now is it becoming 'slightly' easier but still nothing like it was pre-chemo!

I'm sorry this had to happen to you. It certainly isn't anything I'd wish on anybody! It does go away, though and get better....but the cavalier attitude of the nurse/technician certainly doesn't help.

I have not had such a problem, but of the various technicians that have stuck needles in me, the CT scan crew seemed comparatively clueless: taking several tries, calling someone over to help, causing pain. Maybe CT technical staff don't get as much training as they should in this particular thing.

That is an awful experience... I've had several CT scans over the last 9 months (not all cancer related) and during my last one the vein "blew" during the dye injection stage, all the while they're telling me to "hold still now"... My vein didn't actually blow outwardly, but I had a golf ball size lump under the skin, and boy was it painful... makes me cringe just thinking about your experience... I just retired from the fire department, but I was a paramedic for many years and I was always very aware of IV's I started to avoid that very thing... I've never actually seen one explode outwardly like you're describing.. just unbeleivable!

Don't you love how they very casually blow your mind with these comments? One of my nurses was trying to access my port and was having trouble. She very casually said, "I think your port flipped." My whuh did huh? Can they do that? Yes, indeed, they can. Mine hadn't that time, but it did later. I think it heard her make the suggestion and decided to try it the next time. Jeez. Sometimes their brain filters that keep them from making those comments out loud are turned off so all comments come out of their mouth before their brain even registers what the mouth is saying.

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